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Folding in Architecture
Term Paper ID:39510
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Essay Subject:
This paper discusses folding in architecture and compares and contrasts folding in the work of Koolhaas and ...... More...
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5 Pages / 1125 Words
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Paper Abstract:
This paper discusses folding in architecture and compares and contrasts folding in the work of Rem Koolhaas and Peter Eisenman. The artist's ability to see folding at a conceptual level.
Paper Introduction:
Koolhaas and Eisenman on Folding in Architecture The fascination of art lies in the latitude it accords to the artistto create according to his own inner vision and conceptual framework RemKoolhaas and Peter Eisenman in their theory and work on folding inarchitecture have demonstrated the artist\'s ability to see beyond themundane form of a thing into what it represents at a conceptual level Thefold for example is nothing more than a format to the average person Anunfolded napkin and a folded napkin
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Eisenman's folds give the impression that the building can look backon itself (Masschelein & Van der Straeten). Referring to folding as "a correspondence and communication"between two levels, two labyrinths("the pleats of matter" and "the folds inthe soul," Leibniz compares folds to "a labyrinth:" A flexible or an elastic body still has cohering parts that form a fold, such that they are not separated into parts of parts but are rather divided to infinity in smaller and smaller folds that always retain a certain cohesion. Both architects achieve adistinctive, organic look, but the feel of their buildings is quitedifferent, as is the manner in which they integrate their buildings intothe surrounding area. The primary difference between them is that Koolhaas always keeps thebuilding and its surroundings primary in his concept, while Eisenmanelevates theory and the folds themselves higher. Rem Koolhaas and Peter Eisenman both see intrinsic value in folds, andboth of them see beyond the mere mechanics of a fold to what it represents. Thedifferences between the folds in these two buildings are determined by thedifferences Koolhaas sees between Portugal and Seattle. They have their roots in the ideas of Leibniz andFrench philosopher Gilles Deleuze, whose work has the recondite flavor ofFoucault's. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1922.Masschelein, Anneleen; Van der Straeten, Bart. Koolhaas,although he does discuss theory, is more utilitarian. Hisfolds sometimes appear to be continuous undulations of the same entity andother times appear to be broken folds that are discontinuous pieces of whatmight once have been a unified whole. http://www.warwick.ac.uk/philosophy/pli_journal/pdfs/williams_pli_9.pdf His approach is tomake the building one with its environment and yet set it off by making itremarkably unique in its own right. Eisenman's work with folding issimilar except that it is even more organic, looking as though it is partof the earth itself. They see folds as a theoretical entity,a graphical motif, an organic expression of the essence of a thing.Journalist Nicolai Ouroussoff describes Koolhaas's Casa de Musica inPortugal in terms of how it feels to be inside: Most breathtakingly, the walls at either end of the hall are made of enormous sheets of corrugated glass suggesting the folds of a curtain. Thisdistinction explains why Koolhaas's folds are so dramatically differentfrom building to building but Eisenman's are similar to each otherregardless of building. Anunfolded napkin and a folded napkin are each still a napkin in their ownright. The Casa deMusica's folds are romantic, nebulous, and ethereal, while those of theSeattle Public Library are mathematical, precise, and reminiscent of abuilding frame. Works CitedCarpo, Mario. Thus a continuous labyrinth is not a line dissolving into independent points, as flowing sand might dissolve into grains, but as that of a sheet of paper or of a tunic in folds, in such a way that an infinite number of folds can be produced, some smaller than others, but without the body ever dissolving into points or minima (Deleuze 3, 6). His folds in the Emory Center of the Arts look as ifthey are extensions of the earth's crust that have incidentally resulted ina building, producing what Marcel Duchamp calls a "geological landscape"resembling "strata in the earth's crust" (Masschelein & Van der Straeten). Whereas Koolhaasdesigns his buildings to complement and be a part of their surroundings,Eisenman designs his buildings as an expression of his theories and thenworks to make them appear to be a part of their surroundings. The curved glass gives a distorted view of the city outside, so that the entire room feels as if it is floating dreamily in the middle of the city (2).Koolhaas designed the folds to create a continuity with the world outside,as though at the other end of the fold is the outside. The "smaller and smaller folds" that Leibnizdescribes are reminiscent of mathematical exercises in which the distancebetween two points is halved, then halved again, to an infinite number.The two points can never meet, because there is always still someinfinitesimal distance between them. http://www.nytimes.com/2 5/ 4/1 /arts/design/1 ouro.html?pagewanted=2& ei=5 9 &en=9f6f7fddae64b111&ex=127 7856 &partner=rssuserlandWilliams, James. The Fold: Leibniz and the Baroque. Each of his works is so integral to the locale surrounding it thatKoolhaas has made the locale part of the essence of the work. Thus they appear to "go together"without actually still being one uninterrupted entity. There is a sense in which the folds of Eisenman and Koolhaas are anexercise in mathematics. This view of folds invests them with a significance that goes beyondtheir physical appearance, suggestive of unity, infinity, and the inherentconnection that unifies all matter. Eisenman in particularrelates to Leibniz and Deleuze, while Koolhaas seems not to ally himselfwith one philosopher in particular but to create his own philosophy as heworks. Thisexplains why all of his buildings do not look the same. Koolhaas and Eisenman on Folding in Architecture The fascination of art lies in the latitude it accords to the artistto create according to his own inner vision and conceptual framework. Yet when Koolhaas and Eisenman see folds, their vision is differentfrom that of the average observer. Eisenman "uses the practice of folding across and along lines tointroduce uncertainty in the boundaries," contrasting old and newboundaries and redefining "figure-ground relations" (Williams 2 6).Although he sets his buildings in the natural and makes them appear to bepart of a natural setting, they are in many respects virtual in theirdesign, as he operates more from a virtual, philosophical perspective thanfrom the utilitarian perspective that Koolhaas employs. The theoretical underpinnings of folding are more complex and esotericthan one might imagine. His concept of theGeneric City, for example, is rooted on his observations about the genericquality that many modern cities have taken on, and the concept affords ameans of satisfying the demands of modern society by way of an architecturethat reflects them. "Rem Koolhaas Learns Not to Overthink It." The New York Times. Thefold, for example, is nothing more than a format to the average person. While Koolhaas is enjoying the view through waves of foldingglass, Eisenman is pondering the theoretical and philosophical meaning ofthe folds. "Deconstruction: The Uncanny and the Architecture of Deconstruction." http://mashideco.blogfa.com/84 7.aspxOuroussoff, Nicolai. There is the sense that folds expressthe essence of a form, a variation that occurs while it is in theconstantly changing, formative process of "becoming" something (Carpo 15).In the form of the folded origami paper, Deleuze sees echoed the folds thatoccur naturally in nature, as the elements of nature(earth, water, wind,and fire(are all essentially fold-like forms (6). In this regard, Eisenman tends toinvest more of the philosophical in his work than Koolhaas does. "Deleuze's Ontology and Creativity: Becoming in Architecture." Pli 9, 2 . The folds in theCasa de Musica look vastly different from those in the Seattle PublicLibrary, which are far more angular and streamlined looking. RemKoolhaas and Peter Eisenman, in their theory and work on folding inarchitecture, have demonstrated the artist's ability to see beyond themundane form of a thing into what it represents at a conceptual level. Eisenman sees the fold as theoretically similar toand reminiscent of nature, while Koolhaas is more interested in achievingthe look and feel of nature as it exists in the surroundings of thebuilding. He uses the fold in thismanner to integrate the building with itself, allowing one part of thebuilding to come into contact with or come into view of another part. "Ten Years of Folding."Deleuze, Gilles. He imparts this same dimension of observation to hisuse of folding.
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